Shabazz Muhammad's attorney sends a statement to The Times

The attorney representing UCLA freshman men's basketball player Shabazz Muhammad released a statement Wednesday on behalf of his client, who was declared ineligible by the NCAA for a violation of amateurism issues.

The statement read, in part:

"Shabazz has already been forced to miss a cultural and educational opportunity to travel with the UCLA basketball team to China before the start of the season. He has now been forced to miss two games with the UCLA team and is still being told that he is ineligible to participate.

"Due to the process used by the NCAA that effectively provides no rights to Shabazz, we are regrettably unable to fully respond to the issues raised and inquiries from the media. Also, since there has been no opportunity for Shabazz to contest the determination of a violation of the amateur provisions and the NCAA has effectively prohibited transparency in the investigation and the decision-making process, the ability for Shabazz to clear his name and reputation is being jeopardized.

"We have consistently contended that Shabazz has not committed any violations of NCAA bylaws and is being unfairly punished. We continue to stand by that assertion."